


Notions of Privacy

by childofautumn



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Accidental Voyeurism, Humor, M/M, Nile Freeman is So Done, POV Nile Freeman
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:07:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26550361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/childofautumn/pseuds/childofautumn
Summary: Nile was experienced living in close quarters with others. But none of her other living experiences prepared her for living with millennia old immortals.  Nile mistakenly assumed as soldiers they all had a common culture when it came to sharing spaces, and in many ways they did.  In other ways though, their idea of living together was so far apart as to be on different planets.
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 18
Kudos: 259





	Notions of Privacy

**Author's Note:**

> The idea that the other immortals grew up in a vastly different time - when most families shared a single room and private bedrooms weren't a thing led to this. Sorry not sorry.

Nile was experienced living in close quarters with others. She'd grown up with a single mother (after her dad died) and little brother. Money had always been tight, so their apartments had been small. As an adult she'd been a Marine. She'd shared bunks in basic training and when deployed. She knew the rules of how to share a space with others. She was used to living with other people.

None of her other living experiences prepared her for living with millennia old immortals.

Nile mistakenly assumed as soldiers they all had a common culture when it came to sharing spaces, and in many ways they did. In other ways though, their idea of living together was so far apart as to be on different planets.

Nile hadn't blinked when they all bunked down close to each other in the safe houses. It had made strategic sense. They’d been on the run. Sleeping in the same room meant they were close enough to protect each other.

After they'd taken care of Merrick though, it became clear it wasn't a safe house thing. Joe and Nicky were positively baffled when Nile got two hotel rooms their first night outside of London. They wondered why they needed so much space when the room already had two beds. 

"You don't want, you know, privacy?"

The lovers shared a look, "She's trying to get rid of us already, Nicky. I'm hurt." Joe teased. 

Sure, Joe was teasing, but it was also Nile's first clue that their cultural differences were bigger than she'd ever imagined. Just how different they _ were _ became apparent when they settled into the safe house outside of Amsterdam. The problem was, they didn't get the idea that some things were supposed to be done behind closed doors. 

They changed clothes in front of - well anyone. Not just shirts, but everything. She'd originally chalked it up to circumstances, but quickly found out it wasn't just a safe house getting out of bloody clothes type of thing. They'd known each other for centuries - and treated her now as if they had known her that long too. 

They would get naked like it was nothing and could hold entire conversations with her while dropping trou. Coming out of the pool? There was Joe's dick as he took off his trunks and changed into dry pants. She wouldn't have thought of him as a manscaper, but those neatly trimmed curls were proof. Midnight bathroom trip? Nile found out that Nicky wasn't circumcised. He didn't even bother to cover himself, just murmured "scusi" as he walked past her with a washcloth in his hand as naked as the day he was born.

She could get used to the casual nudity when changing - she could. It wasn't like she'd never seen a naked person before. Those issues were manageable, to a point. It was the other things about living with a married couple she had a problem with, especially now that they were officially between jobs while Andy healed. On the job, Nicky and Joe were focused on their mission. Off the job...

It wasn't that Joe and Nicky were big on PDA. Far from it. For all they would casually drop phrases like 'love of my life' and 'destiny to find each other’, they didn't typically do the ‘cuddle on the sofa’ thing Nile was used to. More often it would be Joe watching football while Nicky read across the room. Or Nicky would be cooking while Joe sketched at the table. At dinner they sat across from each other far more often than they sat next to each other. Sure they flirted and winked and smiled at each other, but it was cute.

The problem was they had absolutely no sense of privacy or shame.

The first time she walked in on them, they were in the kitchen. Nicky was up on the counter - his legs wrapped around Joe - she didn't need to see Joe's brown ass to know what they were doing. The noises of skin slapping and grunts were unmistakable. Nile had turned around and walked out as quickly as she could, but the image was seared into her memory. Nile mistakenly chalked it up to a one time event and vowed to be a little more careful entering rooms.

Next time, it was Nicky who had Joe pressed against the wall in the living room, their pants down around their thighs and Nile really didn't need to know what Nicky sounded like when he came, but now she did. She managed to get far enough away before she learned what Joe sounded like.

That lesson came a few days later.

This time Joe was sitting in one of the chairs with the TV on and Nicky was on his knees between his legs and really Nile didn't need to see or hear any of that thank you very much.

Nile gave them what she hoped was enough time to put themselves away before coming back in pretending like she hadn't seen - or heard - what she had most definitely seen and heard.

Only once she was sure they were decent did she try to talk to them about it. Except trying to explain it to them was a little like talking to a brick wall. Eventually Nicky murmured something sarcastic about modern progress and Joe said they'd try to be more mindful. Nile didn't believe them, no matter how sincere they were in the moment.

Deciding they were hopeless and needing a break, Nile went to find Andy. She just wanted to try to get some sympathy and maybe a little respite. Instead, Andy answered the door just as naked as Nicky and Joe had been with her partner tied up in clear view behind her. 

If she tried to carve her eyes out, they were just going to heal again, so ultimately Nile just gave up. 

And borrowed enough money to get her own house.

With locks on the doors.


End file.
